BaseBlogging

Ducksnorts proprietor Geoff Young recently sat down for a lengthy conversation with San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. They cover a number of topics in the 3 part series, but of interest here is Alderson’s take on blogging.

Alderson comments on Paul Depodesta’s blog and how it is another avenue to communicate with the fans

The blogosphere creates another opportunity to communicate, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in Paul — in his ability to write, in his ability to self-edit if that’s necessary — to be as straightforward as possible under the circumstances. We ran it internally for, I don’t know, a month or something like that and decided… let’s go ahead. I’m not sure what we get back in the form of commentary is terribly useful because it tends to be — not a fringe element, but I wouldn’t say it’s [laughs] an accurate poll of public opinion.

And perhaps more interesting for those of us bloggers who aren’t members of front offices, they are considering bloggers in the press box.

The other thing we’ve been toying around with is allowing people like yourself into the press box. I know there’s a lot of controversy about that among mainstream media and so forth, but our attitude is, the more access, the better. In Paul’s case, it’s a chance for him to express himself on an unflitered basis. He doesn’t get interpreted by [radio host] Philly Billy [Werndl] or [newspaper columnist] Tim Sullivan or somebody else. It’s an unvarnished line of communication.

Geoff does a great job with the interview and I encourage you to peruse all 3 parts. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

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written by Bill Ferris \\ tags: geoff young

For those of you using Wordpress to power your blogs you need to be on the look out for some hacking which appears to be widespread.

If you’re looking at your site you won’t notice it, but if you look at your stats you may notice a dip in referral traffic. The hack redirects visitors to your site coming from Yahoo and Google to a site called anyresults.net.

Not being a techie I can’t fully explain what is going on, but somehow the hacker gets access to upload a file and register it as a plug-in. Fixing it is a pain, and there may be other solutions, but here is what I did:

1. Look in the wp_options table for the record with active-plugins. If you look at the list of active plugins you’ll see a number of familiar names as well as other characters. But there will also be an image file (jpeg, png) that has a name similar to an image somewhere on your site. That file isn’t actually an image, but a file with a bunch of garbage in it. Note the name and location of the file.
2. Using your FTP client find the malicious file and delete it.
3. Going back into MySQL check the users table. I noticed that in each instance there was another user created that doesn’t show up when you go in through your blogs control panel. Delete the record for that user.
4. Reinstall Wordpress. And don’t just do an overwrite, but delete all the files and reload them.
5. Change your passwords.

This doesn’t seem to discriminate as to the version of Wordpress you’re using. I was already at the latest, 2.5.1, and still got hit. I also doubt that these changes will persist so you may have to go through the exercise again - at least until Wordpress offers a security update.

The wordpress support thread can be found here.

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written by Bill Ferris \\ tags: hack, wordpress

Add Bob Costas to the list of mainstream media who feel that all bloggers work from their parents basements. In an illogically constructed rant oozing with ignorance Costas lashes out against those who enjoy debating sports.

Costas questioned why fans would take part in an ESPN.com poll. He questions why anyone would care about what the common fan with a computer thinks.

”Today, I saw on ESPN a poll about which Western Conference teams would not make the playoffs,” Costas said. “Well, 46 percent said the Denver Nuggets, which has zero percent influence on anything. No reasonable person who cares about the NBA should care about that. Who has the time or the inclination to do this, even if you’re sitting on your computer? Why would you weigh in on it?”

It’s kind of a strange stance for someone who makes millions of dollars because of people’s interest in sports. Or is it that fans should sit quietly by and accept whatever broadcasters and reporters tell them while not forming and voicing their own opinions? It kind of looks that way:

”I understand with newspapers struggling and hoping to hold on to, or possibly expand their audiences, I understand why they do what they do,” Costas said. ‘But it’s one thing if somebody just sets up a blog from their mother’s basement in Albuquerque and they are who they are, and they’re a pathetic get-a-life loser, but now that pathetic get-a-life loser can piggyback onto someone who actually has some level of professional accountability and they can be comment No. 17 on Dan Le Batard’s column or Bernie Miklasz’ column in St. Louis. That, in most cases, grants a forum to somebody who has no particular insight or responsibility. Most of it is a combination of ignorance or invective.”

Aside from the general ignorance of what constitutes a blog or a blogger (leaving a comment on a newspaper article or course constitutes neither), it’s more vitriol for fans - or Costas’s primary audience.

Costas doesn’t understand that the forum is proportional the quality of the content. Only the good stuff gets a big audience. And by good stuff I mean the stuff that bubbles to the top either in uniqueness, quality of writing, humor, etc.

Why is it okay for Costas to get a forum while no one else does? I’d guess that his answer would have something to do with earning it over the years. Someone at some point had to think he was good enough to put on the air. The problem is that was a singular decision. It’s something that the vast majority of fans didn’t get a chance to weigh in on. Costas was thrust upon us.

The next step of the argument would be that if he wasn’t well liked he wouldn’t still have a job. But we see all the time instances of broadcast professionals who are awful, and widely held in low regard, continue to work.

With blogging it is a much more democratic process. If you’re not good at something, chances are you won’t get read. So that forum gets “earned” albeit in a different and arguably better way.

There is one point where I do agree with Costas:

“confuses simple mean-spiritedness and stupidity with edginess. Just because I can call someone a name doesn’t mean I’m insightful or tough and edgy.

That’s one aspect I’m not a fan of and generally don’t participate in. Of course in the next sentence he refers to those same people as “idiots” and if you remember he also called bloggers “pathetic get-a-life losers” so feast on that irony for a moment.

And to clarify, I have no problem with Costas the broadcaster. I generally like things he’s involved with so there is no personal bias here. It’s just disappointed that Costas views himself as judge and jury for what is and isn’t acceptable.
Sports bloggers weave a tangled web - 03/14/2008 - MiamiHerald.com
Hat tip Inside the Book.

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written by Bill Ferris \\ tags: Bob Costas

I promise this blog won’t become the promotional tool for SNY bloggers, but I have to point you to more from Matthew Cerrone and his adventures at spring training.: Opinion: I am more Naive than I thought

In the piece are some valuable lessons for those bloggers who 1) always knock the mainstream media and 2) who aspire to get press credentials. It’s not as easy as it looks. The good news for the rest of us bloggers is that Cerrone by all accounts represented the blogosphere well, not only in his output but in his conduct as well.

Check out Cerrone’s chronicling of his last week on the job, as well as the interview he did with Big League Stew.

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written by Bill Ferris

SNY, the sports network in New York is genius. Several months ago they teamed up with Matthew Cerrone and MetsBlog. Now they have added a Yankees blogger to the mix by teaming up with Steve Lombardi and WasWatching.com

In both cases the blogs get to keep doing exactly what they were doing before with the authors retaining full editorial control. The blogs, and bloggers get more exposure and some fantastic opportunities. Cerrone has already been on the channel several times and is now reporting from spring training.

But why is this genius for SNY? They get to move forward in their quest to become the “Online Home of All Things NY Sports.” They’re brining in two established brands. But more than that they are bringing in established voices. People that the fans are already relating to. They don’t have to establish the bloggers credibility, it’s already present in the hundreds of thousands of page views that the sites get.

And by putting those who are most passionate about the subject front and center, they get some amazing coverage such as Cerrone’s recent conversation with Johan Santana about the circle change.

This is clearly a win for everyone involved. So congratulations to Steve Lombardi, and congrats to SNY for recognizing a good thing.

WasWatching.com: WasWatching.com Joins SNY Sports-Blog Network

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written by Bill Ferris

Geoff Young, the proprietor of Ducksnorts and Knucklecurve, as well as a contributor at The Hardball Times and Baseball Digest Daily, has just released his 2008 edition of the Ducksnorts annual.

I know this is a huge labor of love for Geoff, as well as just a lot of labor. But this is yet another way to monetize a blog, as well as gain exposure. I interviewed Geoff when his first edition came out last year and to learn a little bit about the process, and this is a full time endeavor.

Once again the book was published through Lulu, but this year an electronic version is also available, as are excerpts to help you decide to buy.

Congrats Geoff on your second baby!

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written by Bill Ferris

Last week when I wrote about Bleacher Report I noted that one downside of the service was that the writer doesn’t own the content. I’ve since been corrected and I’d like to thank Dave Nemetz for clarifying:

One correction I wanted to note is that Bleacher Report writers do own the content, and are often writing through their own blogs that then syndicate to Bleacher Report. The site’s terms of service currently specify that the original writer of each article wholly owns the copyright to their work, but grants a license to Bleacher Report to publish and use the work.

And when I go back and reread the Terms of Service it does say that the writer grants non-exclusive rights to Bleacher Report. The user also grants other rights, like the right to derivative works and for sublicensing. So like with any site you should read the terms of use, instead of just skim them like I did. But it still seems like a terrific opportunity for bloggers looking to get established to both receive feedback and gain exposure.

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written by Bill Ferris

My favorite thing about Wordpress is the vast array of add-on functionality that is available. If you were wishing that Wordpress had a feature or function, chances are someone has already developed it. The following are the plug-ins that I lean on heavily on my various sites:

Essentials

• Akismet: I find this to be probably the single most important plugin I’ive ever installed. On my Tigers site alone it has saved me from having to moderate over 300,000 comments
• Wordpress Database Backup: Another essential tool. You can set it to backup your database at regular intervals and have the backups emailed to you, or stored on the server. With this plugin there is no excuse for losing more than a week’s worth of posts should something happen.
• Google XML Sitemaps: Want Google to know about all of your pages? Want Google to know how often you are updating those pages? Just install this plugin and it will generate a sitemap that is recognizable by Google and will even ping Google to let them know when you’ve made an update.
• WP-ContactForm: Readers have to be able to get in touch with you right? There are several Contact Form plugins available. Just make sure you use one of them.

Accessibility

• Wordpress Mobile Edition: Have you looked at your site on a mobile device? Did you let the whole thing load or did you get discouraged? This plug-in adapts your existing site and puts it into a mobile browser friendly theme. It’s so easy I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it.
• Full Text Feed: If you’re not a full feed kinda blogger this probably doesn’t apply. In later editions of Wordpress the feed truncates if you use the more tag. This will prevent that from happening delivering the full post in the feed.
• Chunk Urls: Don’t you hate it when someone leaves a link as a comment, but it is several hundred characters long and breaks your theme? This plug-in will cut those links down to size keeping your site pretty.
• Share This Deportes: Make it easy for others to evangelize those great posts. Share This was originally developed by Alex King and provided icons for many popular bookmarking/social sites as well as the ability to email posts. The deportes version is tailored to sports blogs with links to sites like BallHype and Yardbarker.
• Smart Archives: Many blogs are shying away from displaying date based archives. However I think that for sports blogs they are still worthwhile because many readers may want to search for information by season. But if you’ve been blogging for a while this can get unwieldy. This plugin neatly arranges those archives into a more manageable format. Here it is in action.

Stickiness

• Get Recent Comments: Make it easy for your regular readers to see when new comments have been left, so they know where to leave comments of their own.
• Articles: I use this plugin to create a “Best of” page. Just mark those popular articles with a custom tag, and they’ll display on a page of your choosing.
• Related Posts: Keep people on your site longer by pointing them to other articles they may care about.

This wasn’t an exhaustive list of all the plugins that I use, just the ones I consider most important. One that wasn’t mentioned in the list was In Series which can link a series of posts together. It’s what is driving this series in fact. Are there plugins that you use or recommend?

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written by Bill Ferris \\ tags: plugins, wordpress

Bleacher Report launched a new design with a bevy of new features this week. Bleacher Report isn’t an compilation of other existing works on the net, but a community project where writers can sign up and submit articles. Those articles are debated and critiqued and the best and most liked will bubble to the top.

Techcrunch picked up the launch, and are quick to point out why an aspiring blogger/writer might want to hook up with BR:

While sports writers could simply sign up for accounts at WordPress or Blogger, they’d do better to publish at Bleacher Report for several reasons. The first and most compelling reason is a better audience. The site attracts sports fans and surfaces the best content to the homepage after assessing several factors such as writer rankings, editor ratings, community ratings, and hits. Readers who like your stuff can become your “fan” and track your work alongside others’ on a special “lineup” page. And articles published to Bleacher Report are categorized into sections like “New York Giants” and “MLB” so your content is found by those interested in just those topics.

Instant exposure is always a plus, not to mention the fact that writers get instant critical feedback. The same sort of feedback that could take months or years to get if trying to launch a blog on your own.

The downside is that you don’t really own the content and you’re writing for someone else. Still, it might be a worthwhile strategy for anyone looking to gain additional exposure or boost his or her authority ranking.

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written by Bill Ferris

Talk about an organization embracing bloggers. The Detroit Pistons offered up a suite for Need4Sheed.com proprietor Natalie Sitto and some of her/the team’s fans for a night. Comping tickets is pretty cool in and of itself, but check out what else the night included:

• A pregame tour of The Palace including time at court level during warm-ups
• A fully stocked suite with food and beverage plus souvenir jersey’s for all
• The 1989 Championship trophy being brought to the suite for all to see

Kudos to the Pistons organization for really making a special night for some of their biggest fans and supporters.  Fellow Pistons blogger Matt Watson of Detroit Bad Boys will have a similar night in the near future.

The Ultimate Pistons Experience - Need4Sheed.com

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written by Bill Ferris